Insurance Gaps: Valuables

In 2012, over two million home burglaries lead to an estimated $4.7 billion in property losses for homeowners across the U.S. Their Homeowners insurance may have helped pick up the pieces, covering their personal property, and getting life back to normal. But that’s not the situation for every type of property though.

The Problem

What if you lost something really valuable? What if something expensive, something unique, and something your Homeowners insurance didn’t fully cover was stolen or damaged?

That’s the case with many valuables, collections, and important things like:

For instance, a typical Homeowners policy might only cover your jewelry for $1,000 against liability for theft. The issue is, if you have a collection of necklaces, rings, or family jewelry, a $1,000 limit might not fully cover it. In fact, according to the FBI, in 2012 the average loss per burglary in the U.S. was $2,230!

That means, if your jewelry, gun collection, antique coin set, or other valuable were ever stolen, damaged, or lost, your coverage limits might not be enough (on their own) to cover the costs to replace them. That would leave you without your valuables, or stuck with the cost to replace them yourself.

The Solution

First of all, it’s important to protect yourself and your home with basic theft prevention measures like a home security system (it might even earn you an insurance discount). Theft isn’t the only form of loss though (damages can ruin property too), and a security system won’t help cover your valuables. Thankfully, extra insurance coverage options can.
Sometimes called insurance “floaters,” these are additional pieces of coverage, designed to cover your individual valuables with limits above and beyond what your Homeowners policy can deliver. They can also extend coverage for different types of loss, beyond theft or damage…like if you lose your favorite earrings while on vacation.

This way, your valuables are truly covered the way you want and with limits that make sense to you and your needs.

If you’re concerned about covering your valuables, consider adding insurance floaters to your policy. To fill gaps like these in your insurance, talk to your insurance agent or provider.